Old Musings - December 2001

As you all know, I am investigative journalist at heart, so I decided to get an alternative view on the bush fire saga. And I figured you can't get much more alternative than Melbourne, so I popped down there for a couple of days.

Getting to Melbourne proved to be somewhat of a struggle. My main form of transport (the trains) to Sydney had been cut by the fire, and most of the roads out of Wollongong were closed as well. At 6.30am on Boxing Day, I found myself tracking down a shuttle service to get me to the airport. Luckily I managed to find one that was open, and booked myself on their next available seat they had going. When the driver picked me up, he was still unsure how he was going to get everybody there. We ended up listening to the radio as we were driving to figure out which roads were being opened / closed. In the end, our route took us via Cambelltown (somewhat inland), and we used the newly opened M5 tunnel to take use directly in to the airport.

I arrived at the Qantas domestic terminal with plenty of time to check in - which was just as well considering the number of people queued up! It took me about half an hour to wade through the queues. (As I wrote this, I double checked the benefits of being a Silver Qantas Frequent-Flyer - apparently I could have checked in at the business class counter - D'oh!)

I decided against rushing straight to the hotel, and ended up exploring the city a bit first. It wasn't long before I found the main shopping mall area. Despite the fact that it was Boxing Day, the people were swarming - all eager to get a bargain in the post-Christmas day sales. It was interesting to note how many people were buying (warm) bedding - this might have something to do with the fact that temperatures were actually 10 degrees below average for this time of year.

Later that evening I decided to try and get into a Lord of the Rings sessions at a local cinema. LOTR was opening today (well behind New Zealand on that one), so I knew my chances were slim. All hopes were dashed when I actually saw the queue of people trying to get in. This was the first time I had seen a queue for a film to go around the block! I decided to abandon the idea, and went to 'Monsters Inc' instead.

The next day, I went around checking out some of the other sites of Melbourne. I ended round by the MCG where, through some of the windows in the place, I actually saw Shane Warne bowl a couple of balls. I was going to go in and watch a bit of the game (Australia vs South Africa) but I figured I had plenty more to see. I ended walking a fair distance, taking quite a few photos. (I also ended up succumbing to the Christmas sale, and bought a pair of binoculars - but that is a different story :)

Yesterday, Friday, I got up early and made my way back to the airport. I was glad to be heading home again and was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again. Apparently Melbourne didn't really have any different view on the bush fires - probably because it was constantly raining on and off while I was there. It was time to get back into the thick of things and to start reporting from the midst of it.

I couldn't take too many photos of the fires. Within no time at all, the plane was enveloped with smoke. Visibility got so bad that it was sometimes difficult to see the tips of the wings.

I decided to risk it, and took the train as far south as I could - ending up in Sutherland. It looked like I had chosen correctly, as there were signs indicating that buses were leaving from here to get me closer to my goal. Unfortunately for me and a number of other weary travellers, the roads were once again closed so we were left waiting for a bus which may not turn up.

Half an hour later, a bus proved a welcome sight and let us all board - we were off again! The jubilations did not last very long though. Traffic was slowing to a crawl and eventually police stopped all the traffic - the highway was closed again :(

A lot of people took the opportunity to get out of their cars, stretch their legs and have a smoke(!). I decided to run around an take some photos of course. There was a lot of devastation, but surprisingly some trees appeared virtually unscathed. Some of the road signage did not get off as lightly though.

Some time later, the police let us through again, and we managed to get to the next station without any further incidences. It was a delight to get back on to an air-conditioned train - especially when I found out that it was a stop-train. I was dreading having to walk all the way from Wollongong Central station. 

Some three and a half hours after departing Sydney, I finally stood at my doorway. Boy was I glad to be home.

Plug : If you want to get some cheap last-minute (up to 12 days in advance) accommodation, try www.wotif.com. Great for cheap hotels in NZ, Aus, UK and Ireland - as well as some Asian countries. I managed to get a pretty cheap deal through them.

Web Update
Another 'Dumb Ozzies' photo added
Added photos of Melbourne
Added more 'Bush Fire' photos
Updated DVD list in 'Fun Stuff'.

I'm afraid I'm too lazy (hot, bothered, sleepy - take your pick) to really do any writing today. The two photos to the left speak for themselves I think. So if you don't mind, I'm just going to pop out to the balcony to sip my nice cold drink and eat the mini-Christmas cake Mum sent me :)

So much for a lazy day. Wollongong is surrounded by two bush fires! All roads and the train to Sydney have been closed. The place stinks of burning eucalyptus. But more importantly - I got some great photos.

Struth Mate! Is it hot here, or wot? 

    Subject : Day before Christmas
   Temp : 33.4 degrees Celsius 
   Humidity : 14% Relative Humidity (aka 'Bone Dry')
   Rate of Evaporation : 1 standard 250ml glass of coke - 37 seconds. 
   Chocolate : Brown Goo

Yes people, it is warm over here - and if you don't believe me, check out the local weather station readings. Given the weather, I decided that it was about time I ditched my shoes and find myself some thongs (jandles or flip-flops for the rest of us). Didn't take me long. Popped down to the local Woolworths store and picked up a pair for $1.59. (That's less than 80c per foot!). Only in Australia.

Right now, I am just glad to have a bit of a break from work. I haven't had the chance to sleep-in for about a month now. Between working weekends and popping up to the Blue Mountains, I have managed to run pretty low on sleep. Needless to say, but I am now replenishing depleted stocks. (Last three days - 11:50am, 10:50am and 11:20am respectively <g>)

In my defence though, I am making up for my new-found slothfulness by cleaning the place up a bit. It has been a while since I had the time to do a bit of scrubbing here and there, so I though it was time to do something about it.

Well, even though though the lab was winding down for the year, and my project is winding up for a release, the social club managed to organise a Christmas party. I must say that, despite Nortel not chipping in this year, they managed to do a bang up job. Everyone went Hawaiian for the night, so for once I wasn't the only one wearing orange. Of course I was there with my camera so there are plenty of photos.

Web Update
Fixed up spelling mistakes for some Australian place names. (Happy now, Eddy?)
Added photos of Nortel Christmas Party.
Added photos of my new 'footware'.
Added a rare photo of the inside of the Nortel Lab.

We ended up seeing all sorts of things - including Skippy, the bush kangaroo! - Well I think it was him, they all look the same to me. Take a look at the photos here and here.

Not much happening lately - deadlines at work mean that I am working weekends at the moment :(. But to Make up for it, Wollongong put on some decent shows at night!

On a more administrative note, my web server has moved to Australia - which should mean faster load times for (most) people. (Sorry about that if you live on the other side of the world!). As things we moving across, I constructed a wee little 'Shrine to Australia'. Some people may have seen it already, but I'll advertise it again :)

Web Update
Start of a new month - Ramblings for November archived away.
Photo of pretty fireworks added.
'Shrine to Australia' added.